So we took Collin to the doctor yesterday morning. He had screamed most of the night and, let's face it, hasn't been eating all that great and was crying when he did. He had gone from 12lbs 12oz 8 days ago, to 12lbs 0.9oz. I never have cried much but this poor baby is turning me into a cry baby. I HATE the feeling of not being able to calm my own little guy, or not being able to do anything about his pain. His doctor increased his medicine to the max dose possible, and now we're waiting to see if it works. If not, she can try one more medication but will probably send him to a gastrologist. I'm dreading that. He would have to go through painful and unpleasant tests. We're praying really, really hard that he's going to be better before that has to happen!

He is, though, such a happy baby when we're not trying to get him to eat. He's in love with his bumbo seat and jumperoo right now. He also LOVES to 'stand' with us holding his hands and arms, and just cracks up every time. Ellie has started to ask if he can cuddle in her bed and they'll just lay there looking at each other or Ellie will read to him.

We went to the library today, Ellie in search of a new Kipper movie and I in search of some books to read that we haven't read yet. We came home with (what else!) a Kipper book, a book about a ballerina, and one about brothers and sisters. Someday I'll venture back to my section, but for now we're sticking to picture books.

Both of them are napping right now, so I should probably take advantage of the quiet and get some cleaning done. I also need to brainstorm about new dicipline tactics for Ellie. Which is a whole different topic...

moments...

Collin had a twenty-minute 'conversation' with the ceiling fan today. He coos and "ooooooooh"s at everything these days. He's also started to give slobery, open mouthed "kisses" when we kiss him. Ellie's not too sure about it, but I love them! His fist is always in his mouth. We got him a jumpey and he loves it, even though he is barely tall enough for it. It works well since he still can't lay flat. Ellie is still his favorite and he'll lay in the beanbag with her forever watching her read. It's my favorite when she 'reads' to him and they 'play' together. He's also starting to hold onto toys and reach for things he wants.

Last week he had croup. It still hasn't cleared up very well, and he had a fever tonight. He's also started fussing and screaming for the occasional feeding again. We'll probably end up back at the doctors later this week. However, he has been sleeping through the night most nights this week! The world is a much better place with sleep... While Aunt Hesedel is gone he is sleeping in her room. He's got six more weeks to be sleeping well before he goes into Ellie's room.

Ellie and I worked on their room and got it all set up for sharing. Ellie LOVES her brother still and runs to see him every morning. She calls him "my buddy" and "the buddy." Or, if he's crying, "Collin Micah like Uncle Micah!" She's big into things that are the same or match. Princess Belle is "Belle like Anabelle." She likes her clothes to match her colors and toys, too. Today we were building towers and I put a block on facing the wrong way, and of course she had to fix it. I'm working on toning this down; I really don't want her to get my obsessive compulsive ways! Her favorite dress right now is a blue, poofy one from Grandma Helen. Apparently she still needs her 'dancing skirt' though; she puts it on under or over everything. She tells us she is a ballerina. If she's not wearing her blue dress or tricycle shirt, she's wearing a leotard and dancing skirt. She actually tries to sleep with her ballet slippers on. (I do dress her appropriately when we leave the house; she's allowed to wear whatever when we're home.)

Dicipline wise, we're flailing a bit. Ellie discovered that if Collin is nursing I can't get to her, so she's been ignoring and looking away. We're working on it... Summer isn't too much fun for me since Aunt Hesedel is gone and Steven travels a lot. I'm eager to have Steven home so we can be a parenting team again. On a happier note, even with the testing and disobedience, Ellie still shares very well, and is kind and considerate. And ever so gentle. She is still reading a lot and would rather read for an hour than anything else. Unless it's dancing. She is doing really, really well with her please and thank yous and asking with a good attitude. She's whining less, too. The phrase "turn your whiney voice off" works a lot better than "stop whining" for some reason.

I was going to write down all the little moments and cuddles we've had but I can't remember them. I really need to get better about writting stuff down. Or I should start photo blogging...hmmmm.....